From its days of infancy to its now exponential growth as the fastest rising sport on the planet, Mixed Martial Arts is, don't get it twisted, a glorified freak show. From the first UFC featuring Royce Gracie taking on the dude with one boxing glove, to James Toney fighting Randy Couture as a "co-main event", It is clearly evident that regardless of however "mainstream" this sport becomes, there will always be a story that makes you want to just scratch your head.
Former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL player, Herschel Walker, is one such story. From a stellar career at the University of Georgia to a lengthy career with several teams (including a stint in the old United States Football League as a New Jersey General), Walker was always some sort of "freak" athlete, one that took care of himself non-stop, was committed to being a better team player and person. Despite all of his credentials, he is arguably remembered for 2 things that never happened on the football field (being part of the largest trade in NFL history that gave the Dallas Cowboys all their draft picks and elevated the team to their '90s Super Bowl dynasty, and being the brakeman for the '92 US Olympic bobsled team). When he retired, he was still a solid contributor to his team (he still caught 12 balls and rushed for 2 scores in his last year in Dallas in 1997, as well as returning kickoffs).
From then on, Walker has remained primarily out of the spotlight, only occasionally showing up "here and there" to tell us that he suffers from "Multiple Personality disorder" (now known as Dissociative Identity Disorder), in his autobiography (published in 2008) and that he can't even remember his Heisman winning season. He also showed up on a Celebrity edition of "The Apprentice" being kicked off despite his owning of a food service company due to issues on a project.
So when he decided he was going to go into MMA, most people sat there and scratched their head. This Mixed Martial arts thing is really a "Freak Show" as some put it.
It turns out, that while it may be a freak show, Herschel Walker is probably one of the most exciting stories in MMA today. This 48 year old (soon to be 49) had his debut just over a year ago and defeated a lesser known opponent by punches in the 3rd round. On Saturday Night, he fought an opponent, Scott Carson whom despite having 10 years off, returned just over a year ago to the sport. Despite having a superior record to Walker, Carson was rocked early and the fight was ended at just over 3 minutes of the opening frame. Afterward, Walker said he is still a "young" fighter and there were things to improve. He also talked about fighting more than once this year. At 49 years old.
Aaliyah once sang a song that age was "nothing but a number". I firmly believe in Walker's case that is true. To him, being 49 is an asset not a liability. What's more, is that he's donating his little purse he gets (about $5,000 from his first fight, his second fight not yet revealed) to his church. It doesn't matter to him if he's a champ, he just wants to show the rest of the world how hard "being an MMA fighter is". He knows he'll never be top 10, but his trainer at the American Kickboxing Academy (who houses none other than UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez) is convinced had Walker taken the sport up earlier, like say his mid to late 20's, he'd have been an "all time great". Given his athletic background, i firmly believe that's true.
Joe Rogan said that Randy Couture is his "hero" more often than not. Well, Mr. Rogan, you can have your hero. Because I certainly have mine. His name is Herschel Walker.
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